Episode 20 - 7/22/66

Roger and Vicki arrive at the hotel. Roger tells her to wait in diner until he calls for her to come up to Devlin's room.

Sam sits down with Vicki while she waits in the diner with her coffee. Sam asks where Roger is. He saw them arrive together. He asks if Roger deserted her? He continues to probe, and then realizes he went up to see Burke.

Roger knocks on the door and Burke answers. He asks what happened to him. Roger says he was in an accident, but he survived. He asks Burke about the business deal. Roger wants to talk about it. He wants to know what Roger is driving at. Roger agrees to have a drink, and wants to hear about the business deal.

Sam arrives back home and the phone rings. It was the hotel clerk, calling to see how Maggie was feeling after midnight. Maggie says not to worry about it, she asked him to call. Sam realizes that Maggie had the hotel clerk call if he saw him.

Burke says he wants Roger to talk to Liz about selling the cannery. Roger calls him a liar. He accuses Burke of trying to kill him. Burke denies it, and Roger spells out how he tampered with the car, and then calls down to the diner.

Sam shows Maggie a painting he made of the Collins house, and she says she hates that place.

Burke denies having anything to do with Roger's car as Vicki arrives. Burke jokingly talks about tampering with the car, using a tool... and then hesitates. Roger accuses Devlin of having a wrench, which Vicki confirms. Burke says he picked it up from the front seat before throwing it on the bench. Burke tells Vicki to get Roger out of his room. Burke says he's no longer a young kid who will get railroaded. He then turns to Vicki and suggests she should get on a train out of Collinsport.

Back at Collinwood, Vicki asks if Roger is still sure about Burke being responsible for the accident. Roger says that he needs Vicki now, so she has to stay whether she likes it or not.

Our thoughts

John: Is it safe for Roger to drive with one arm in a sling?

Christine: Is it safe for Roger to drive with one arm in a sling after downing snifters of brandy? I wonder how many cars he has wrecked. Roger's got a lot of bravado while meeting with a man he believes tried to kill him. What happened to the sniveling coward we've come to know and love?

John: Sam seems suddenly sober. Other than the fact that he's incoherent. Of course it may be the fact that his daughter is a long-haired brunette for the first time. She must have really felt ill to not put on what must have been the horrible blonde wig we've seen her in prior to this episode.

Christine: We haven't seen Maggie since Episode 12, so she's had some time to grow and color her hair. Thank goodness the wig is off and the real Maggie Evans is here.

John: Roger seems to like having the upper hand on Burke... as far as he knows. The poorly choreographed slap of Burke's drink out of his hand was quite humorous. Too bad Burke didn't punch him in the nose...

Christine: It's even better in still shots. Enjoy.

Read our 60th Anniversary commentary to see what new observations we made: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2026/07/shadows-on-wall-episode-20.html

Episode 19 - 7/21/66

Elizabeth comes downstairs in her nightgown, unable to sleep. Bill calls to update her on Carolyn. He confirms that she did leave the Blue Whale with Devlin, but they haven't arrived back at his hotel. Bill says he'll see if they've gone back to the bar.

Sam is in the Blue Whale when Bill arrives. They have a drink and talk about Burke Devlin.

Joe and Carolyn enter the diner together, with no sign of Burke Devlin. They argue about the events of the night.

Sam tells Bill he ordered another round, and then he has to go pick up Maggie at the diner. Sam asks about Carolyn and Burke going up to Collinwood together. At first Bill doesn't say anything, but ultimately tells Sam about Roger's accident. Sam asks if Burke Devlin was anywhere near Roger's car.

Joe and Carolyn eat hamburgers. He asks if she knew Devlin was at the Blue Whale, and she confirms she did. Joe goes to get her a cup of coffee and Sam walks in and sees her alone at the table.

Bill calls Liz letting her know that he found Carolyn. He told her about the accident and she was on her way home.

Bill thanks Sam for calling him about Carolyn over a cup of coffee.

Joe and Carolyn arrive back at Collinwood. Carolyn apologizes, and says he's a great guy. Liz is pleased to see her. She runs upstairs to see her uncle, and Liz asks Joe if she can talk to him for a minute. Liz asks about her going to the Blue Whale to met Devlin. She then asks if he left based on the way Carolyn was interacting with Devlin. Liz says that tonight Devlin was almost a murderer. Carolyn comes downstairs to say Uncle Roger's not in his room. Liz explains that Devlin tampered with Roger's brakes. Carolyn asks her why Burke would want to kill Roger. She explains that Roger testified against him in Burke's manslaughter trial, and that Devlin swore he'd come back for them.

Our thoughts

John: This episode offers our first glimpse of Liz with her hair down, and out of her designer clothes by Ohrbach's.

Christine: Instead we see her in her designer robe from Ohrbach's.

John: During their midnight burger run, Joe lays out his heart, and Carolyn asks him for a cup of coffee. Ouch! I was a little disappointed that the follow up to the Joe/Burke/Carolyn confrontation occurred offscreen. If they dropped Burke off at the hotel, wouldn't Bill have seen him?

Christine: It's good to see Joe finally let Carolyn know he can't keep being "good ol' Joe" to stand by on the sidelines.

John: Just when I think Liz is going to lay out the tale of Burke's murder conviction for Carolyn, she gives the Cliff's Notes version we're all already familiar with.

Read our 60th Anniversary commentary to see what new observations we made: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2026/07/shadows-on-wall-episode-19.html

Episode 18 - 7/20/66

Vicki tosses and turns in bed as the windows rattle in the night. There is a knock at her door, as Roger asks to speak to her. She says she's not dressed, and he asks her to meet him in the drawing room.

David is still lurking downstairs and follows Roger into the drawing room. David says he's sorry, and Roger asks if he's sorry because he survived. He asks why his father wants to speak with Vicki, suggesting that she knows who did it. David then says maybe he's not sorry at all.

David comes to see Vicki. He says he tried to apologize, and Roger sent him to bed. He denies being involved, and Vicki tells him no one suspects him. David asks what Vicki is going to tell him about the accident, and she confirms she doesn't know anything about it. David then asks what will happen if they find the person responsible, and Vicki says they'll put him in jail.

In the drawing room, Roger says he knows who tampered with his car, but proving it is something else. He asks Vicki to describe exactly what she saw. She tells him that Devlin had a wrench in his hand.

Meanwhile, David plays with a car in his bedroom, and then stomps on it.

Roger flips out about the wrench. He asks if there's anything else Vicki hasn't mentioned. Roger asks if Burke's hands were dirty. He then calls the hotel, but Burke isn't there. Roger tells Vicki to get dressed, as they're going to the hotel to confront him.

In his room, David takes the part removed from the car and goes to Vicki's door. When she opens it he runs back into his room. He asks if his father is going to call the police. She said he might, and this clearly troubles David.

Roger and Vicki leave, and David tucks the car part back into his drawer.

Our thoughts

John: Can they not afford to get working closures on the windows in this house? It seems like they're constantly banging in every room.

Christine: The house is almost 150 years old. It was made to have shutters and windows that bang for the proper gothic effect.

John: I like how David all but admitted to his father that he was responsible, and Roger didn't catch on. And then to Vicki. And no one is hearing the kid!

Christine: David was right. Nobody listens to him. No wonder he talks to ghosts.

John: I half expected this episode to end with Roger and Vicki opening the door to find Carolyn and Devlin standing there. We'll see where and when the next confrontation happens.

Christine: We only have three characters present for today's episode. What is taking Carolyn so long to get home? In case you missed a few episodes and are unaware of the connection to the part David has been secreting away, today's episode will gladly catch you up.

Bill Malloy's drawing of the part removed from Roger's car that caused the brakes to fail.

The bleeder valve David keeps trying to conceal in Vicki's room.

Getting more mileage out of Bill Malloy's technical sketch.

Read our 60th Anniversary commentary to see what new observations we made: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2026/07/shadows-on-wall-episode-18.html

Episode 17 - 7/19/66

David tosses and turns in his sleep, crying out, "I didn't!!" He gets out of bed and starts to climb out the window when Elizabeth bursts in. She tells him to wake up and he says, "I didn't mean to kill him."

Bill Malloy waits in the doctor's waiting room. The doc says Roger is almost ready to go, and Bill says he'll be back in 30 minutes, after going down to check out the wreck. With a bandage on his forehead and his left arm wrapped for a sprain, Roger is still pretty mobile. The doctor says that anyone living up on the hill should be sure the brakes are working in their car.  Roger confirms they were. The doc brings up the death 10 years ago. Roger quickly exclaims he wasn't involved in that, and the doc says he knows, he was at the trial.

The wind blows open the window in David's room, and when Liz returns, he asks her to stay with him. He can't sleep, so they go downstairs to await Roger's return.

Bill returns to get Roger and the doc points out that he's the only one in town that talks. As they're leaving, Bill says there's no question that the wreck wasn't an accident. Bill draws a picture of the part we saw David with earlier.

  

Liz and David wait in the drawing room for Roger's return. When Bill's car pulls up, David runs upstairs. David asks Bill not to mention the missing car part. Roger is well enough to throw back a drink. Liz asks if he thinks Burke Devlin was responsible, because Vicki saw him near the car. This gets Roger riled up. Before he leaves, Liz asks Bill to look for Carolyn. Roger makes his way upstairs, but to go to sleep, or to interrogate Vicki?

Our thoughts

John: Based on David's outburst, I thought for sure the mystery of Burke Devlin's involvement in the crash would be solved by episodes' end. Silly me.

Christine: It's probably difficult for anyone to fathom that David could be capable of murdering his own father and much easier to believe it was Burke, who is already suspected of plotting revenge. Although David claims he didn't mean to kill him, wasn't it just Friday that he was watching Roger from his window and stating, "He's going to die, mother." It kinda sounds like he meant to kill him.

John: This episode features a classic blooper as Roger says 100 miles when he means 100 feet, and saves it by saying it seemed like 100 miles.

Christine: Louis Edmonds will continue to prove how talented he really is.

John: Was this episode brought to us by Jiffy Lube? Did we really need Bill Malloy's PowerPoint presentation on how cars work?

Christine: It's educational TV for our younger viewers. It felt like an episode of Tennessee Tuxedo, with Malloy playing the part of Mr. Whoopee. Don't you feel like you learned something today?

John: Interesting that Liz didn't mention to Roger that Carolyn was last seen leaving the Blue Whale with Burke Devlin. He might have had a heart attack.

Christine: Carolyn is going to be in so much trouble when she gets home. Nah, who am I kidding. Elizabeth is more into the permissive style of parenting. I'd just like to point out for the benefit of John, and anyone else who'd be interested, the very cool and handy skull Dr. Reeves has on his desk that appears to be holding paperwork in its teeth. What a great way to stay organized in the office!

Fred Stewart would go on to play another doctor in the 1967 film, In the Heat of the Night.

Read our 60th Anniversary commentary to see what new observations we made: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2026/07/shadows-on-wall-episode-17.html

Episode 16 - 7/18/66

Vicki answers a call from Bill Malloy confirming that Roger would be all right. Vicki says he's lucky considering the kind of accident it was, and Liz says she's not sure it was an accident. She thinks Burke Devlin is responsible. Bill Malloy says the brakes definitely went out on the car.

At the Blue Whale, Burke hangs out with Joe and Carolyn. Joe asks Carolyn to dance, and she says she wants to talk while giving Burke the googly eyes. While Joe is off making a call, Burke tells her Joe's a good kid. She asks why Burke had to leave and he suggests that she ask her uncle. She likes that Burke knows what he wants and lives life his own way.

Liz calls Matthew to meet with her. She mentions how he was almost killed on the same spot of road 17 years ago. And since then he made sure the brakes worked on all the cars since then. Liz starts to go off on the house - saying it's not for young people.

Matthew arrives to speak with Liz, who has gone upstairs to get pills. When she comes down, she asks when Matthew last checked his car. She asks if he dislikes Roger enough to harm him. He said only if he meant to do harm to Elizabeth. Matthew says he doesn't like Roger much, but he wouldn't tamper with the brakes. Turns out they had been checked just two days ago.

Back at the Blue Whale, Carolyn asks Burke to dance. He says sure, until one of the standard Blue Whale dance numbers starts up. He says it's too fast for him. Burke says Joe might hit him, and Joe agrees. She then suggests Burke join them at the movies, and Joe storms out. Carolyn and Burke leave together to try and find him.

Matthew arrives back at the house after visiting the car wreck. He didn't get a chance to check the brakes because reporters were on the scene. Liz asks if Vicki knew what movie they were going to see, so she can try and reach her before reporters do. Vicki told her she thinks Carolyn was going to the Blue Whale, and Liz wants to know if she was going to see Burke Devlin. Vicki says yes. Liz dresses down Vicki for not telling her sooner.

Liz called the Blue Whale, and found out Carolyn left with Burke Devlin.

Our thoughts

John: So Carolyn wants to be hit over the head and dragged out of Collinwood. And she thinks Burke is just the guy to do it. I can't imagine how she's going to maintain her relationship with Joe after all but ignoring him in favor of Burke.

Christine: Carolyn doesn't seem to know what she really wants. Joe is a tolerant fellow, but not a total imbecile, so he probably won't put up with her shenanigans for too much longer. Funny how Burke is singing Joe's praises to Carolyn and at the same time getting in the way.

John: Considering Joe left just moments before, you wouldn't think it would be too hard for Burke and Carolyn to find him. He'd probably be in the parking lot getting into his car.

Christine: Liz tells Vicki that Collinwood is old and decaying and smells of death. I was wondering when we might get back to what's locked up in the basement.

John: We learn that Matthew is not a member of the Roger Collins fan club, though we don't know why. I was thinking his time as a suspect might have lasted longer than a commercial break, but perhaps they didn't want viewers to be confused by too many suspects.

Christine: Roger does not currently have many fans. I think "Kitten" may be the only one singing his praises, though it may be because they're really two peas in a pod. By the way, the VTR date is 7/4/66 and announcer Bob Lloyd wishes all a Happy Independence Day! Here are a few more scenes from today's episode:

Another opening shot of the house.

Waiting for news on Roger.

Isaac Collins and Vicki

A rare view of the kitchen plants.

Troublemaker Burke Devlin.

Read our 60th Anniversary commentary to see what new observations we made: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2026/07/shadows-on-wall-episode-16.html